Contagion
by A.Mind.of.Disturbed.Current
Summary: General Mansfield wants to find out more about the underground complex and he can’t do it alone. Meanwhile, Eureka is business as usual with no shortage of crises. Allison/Jack. Mansfield/OFC. Post 03x08 "From Fear to Eternity".
1. Prologue

Title: Contagion

Author: A-Mind-of-Disturbed-Current

Rating: T

Pairing: Jack Carter/Allison Blake, General Mansfield/OFC

Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka and I make no money from this story.

Summary: General Mansfield wants to find out more about the underground complex and he can't do it alone. Meanwhile, Eureka is business as usual with no shortage of crises. Allison/Jack. Mansfield/OFC.

Author's Note: I'm taking a break from my other story. I haven't been able to write anything in a long time because I have been sick quite frequently and also very busy at school. This year I seem especially susceptible to illness. Not a good combination. Also, I have a bit of writer's block, hopefully this will clear it up. Now about this story, if anyone knows General Mansfield's first name, I'd appreciate it if you let me know what it is, I can't seem to find it anywhere. This is set after episode 3x08, so spoilers for that episode and any of those before it are possible and likely. There might be a sequel to this, it depends on how this goes and where I decide to end it.

Prologue

Carter didn't know what he was going to do. He had been given two days to pack up and leave Eureka and this was the second day in that timeframe. He hadn't packed anything yet, nor had he made any other preparations to leave, as he had no idea where he was going to go. His master plan had not included anything near this eventuality, and yet here he was, sitting on the couch, drowning his sorrows in a cold glass of beer.

Surprisingly, the news that the town sheriff had been fired hadn't gotten out, which was a sure sign that Vincent didn't know about it. As far as he knew, the only people who knew about it besides himself and General Mansfield were Allison, who had been there, and his deputy Jo Lupo, whom he had been forced to tell. Both had agreed to keep it quiet, at least for the time being. Eventually there would have to be explanations given. He hadn't told anyone yet either, not even Zoey or S.A.R.A.H., and he knew he should have, but he didn't know how to break the news. He stood by his actions and was certain that he had done the right thing. He understood that he had to suffer the consequences of his actions, but he couldn't help but feel that he had failed. Failed Zoey, failed Allison and failed Eureka.

Allison…that was a complicated relationship. He loved her and she would have married Stark (again) if he hadn't died that day. But he did die and she was pregnant with Nathan's child. If he hadn't been fired, they might have had a chance to have the sort of relationship he wanted with her. Though she had promised to talk to the general as Mansfield stormed off, he wasn't sure that she could. The man had been absolutely furious and hadn't wasted any time getting out of Eureka.

He didn't have much longer. If Allison didn't call with positive news before Zoey returned from school, he would have to tell her the truth, S.A.R.A.H. too. Then he would have to start packing to leave time to say his goodbyes. And he would have a lot of them once the news spread. He still had a few hours left to think about how to break the news. He didn't know how he could tell Zoey that she had to leave Eureka, it was her home now, and he knew that while she would say she understood, given that his actions had been to save her life, she would blame him, and she would be right. It was his fault, he knew that much. He drained the rest of the beer in the glass in a single swallow and headed toward the kitchen, seriously considering asking S.A.R.A.H. for another.

* * *

At Global Dynamics, Allison was having similar thoughts about recent events. She never could have anticipated this. After losing Nathan, she didn't think she could bear losing Carter as well. As much as she loved Nathan, he was gone, and she'd always had feelings for Carter. She cared about him. While this wasn't the same as him dying, she was losing him too. She had tried all morning to reach General Mansfield, but she wasn't having any luck. She knew that he was back in Washington D.C., but his staff insisted that he wasn't in his office and that they had no idea where he was.

She found this highly unlikely. A general couldn't just slip below radar any time he pleased, it was much more likely that his staff was blocking her calls for some reason. But that didn't make sense either. He would have to deal with her eventually, and there was no reason for him to be running scared like this. So the question was, what was Mansfield up to? She sighed and called Washington again. He had to return to his office eventually, and she only hoped that it wouldn't be too late for Carter, because once he was gone, the chances of reversing this would drop dramatically as there would be a measure of permanence to the situation. Especially if he got his old job back, which she imagined he would.

TBC


	2. Chapter 1

Title: Contagion

Author: A-Mind-of-Disturbed-Current

Rating: T

Pairing: Jack Carter/Allison Blake, General Mansfield/OFC

Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka and I make no money from this story.

Summary: General Mansfield wants to find out more about the underground complex and he can't do it alone. Meanwhile, Eureka is business as usual with no shortage of crises Allison/Jack. Mansfield/OFC.

Author's Note: Because I am home sick again today, I have this chapter finished early. I probably won't have another update ready until after Monday because that is the day of my exams and I have to study. I hope you enjoy this. **Dragon77**, thank you very much for the review.

Chapter One

_Previous Day - Night._

General Mansfield growled and threw the DOD report into an open desk drawer. He slammed it shut. He hated the idea that anyone would deliberately try to deceive him, and it was worse that he actually liked Allison Blake and that he didn't know how long this had been going on. All he knew was that she and whoever else was involved were hiding something from him about the incident in the underground complex and that he wasn't going to find the answer on his own or in any DOD report from Allison.

He knew that he needed to calm down and think clearly, anger would only cloud his mind. He was sure that he was being kept out of the loop deliberately, but he had no proof, only his suspicions, and no one was talking. For a moment, he thought that by firing the sheriff, he could scare someone into talking, but that hadn't worked and thinking about it now, he knew they had no reason to talk. He had no proof of what happened, only that Carter had disobeyed orders (again) and that it was convenient that all of the research regarding the work done in the underground complex had been destroyed and that Eva Thorne had ended up dead.

He needed a different approach. An ally inside the town who he could trust to investigate and report back to him with the truth. Unfortunately, no one currently in Eureka seemed a promising candidate for the job, which meant that he would have to plant someone inside, someone who could overcome the inevitable suspicion. He had someone in mind, but the problem was getting her inside, but knowing Angela Rosen as he did, he imagined that she might have some ideas about that. He couldn't speak to her directly, not over the phone, but he knew just who to call to arrange a meeting.

_Present Day - Early Afternoon._

His staff hadn't lied when they said they didn't know where he was. He hadn't come into his office that morning, he hadn't called and he wasn't at home. He had sent a brief message via email stating that he would not be in for the day. He was busy making arrangements for his meeting. While there was almost no chance that someone would be following either of them at this point, it never hurt to be careful and Angela always insisted on it. In her experience, being careful prevented being killed too easily. He hadn't had so much experience with espionage, but he could see her point.

The meeting place was a local park. It was busy, with children running and screaming and harried adults (mostly mothers and nannies) trying to keep an eye on them. That was good. In a crowded place, there was less chance of someone noticing a couple more people and less chance of someone overhearing anything, particularly outside. As he expected, no one seemed to pay too much attention to him, and he made sure to give them no reason to. He was dressed in non-descript clothing and tried to seem as normal as possible. He felt awkward, like it wasn't working, but he knew it was.

After walking down the main trail for a couple of minutes, he spotted a woman sitting on a bench with an umbrella sitting underneath it. That was the sign. It was a sunny day, without a prediction for rain, so it was a good signal. As he approached, she stood and matched his pace as he passed in front of the bench. She left the umbrella behind.

"It's been a while," was all she said.

"Yes, it has." They strolled along the trail at a leisurely pace. The people around them paid even less attention to the two of them together. Nothing unusual about a couple taking a stroll in the park on a nice day. He slipped an arm around her waist, drawing her closer so he could speak quietly in her ear, "I have an assignment for you."

She smiled and pretended to admire the scenery as she spoke, "You do know that I'm not with the agency anymore, right?" The last time they had met, she had been a CIA operative, but she had since retired. She had been young to retire, but it wasn't so unusual for a field agent to take early retirement and she had the financial security she needed. Not that she was above doing private contract work every now and then, or even less frequently, consulting with the CIA, but she wouldn't do it for just anyone.

"I know," he stroked her side and leaned in yet closer, "Consider this a personal request. I know you take those from time to time." They paused in their conversation to return the smile of a passing couple. "It's infiltration and recon. Interested?"

"What would this 'request' have in it for me?"

"Well, first I should point out that you owe me. But apart from the challenge and a break from the boredom? During the assignment, all necessary expenses covered and upon completion, a sum of money, to be negotiated upon review of the results."

Had anyone else offered to negotiate pay afterward, she wouldn't have trusted them, but she knew him. Even if the idea of double-crossing her entered his mind, he wouldn't dare; she knew that he was aware of what she was capable of and what the people she knew were capable of. "I'm interested."

He smiled. "Good. Details once we're secure." They continued walking along the trail towards the park exit and the parking lot. He had a car waiting for them. When they reached the lot, he opened the passenger side door for her before walking around the car and sliding into the driver's seat. "There's a briefcase under your seat with the relevant files."

She didn't move. She knew they were being watched and a quick survey of the area located the spy. "Two o'clock. The man on the bench is watching us."

He glanced where she indicated and relaxed when he saw the man. "That's one of my people."

She nodded her head approvingly and pulled out the briefcase. As he started the engine and pulled out of the lot, she set it on her lap, but did not open it. Not yet. "Where exactly are we going?"

"A secure apartment. You can review the files there."

* * *

Allison had been almost ready to give up calling when she finally got through. The communication was audio only, so his staff hadn't lied about the General's whereabouts; at least, he wasn't in the office, or there would be visual communication available. "General, I have been trying to reach you since early this morning--"

He interrupted her. "Yes, about that. You want Carter back," he said curtly.

"Yes, I do, and--"

"You can have him."

"Sir?" Allison couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had been sure that he would say no, at least initially, and force her to offer something in return.

"I may have been acting rashly when I fired the Sheriff," he said, sounding a bit embarrassed, "I'll hire him back, but with one condition."

TBC


	3. Chapter 2

Title: Contagion

Author: A-Mind-of-Disturbed-Current

Rating: T

Pairing: Jack Carter/Allison Blake, General Mansfield/OFC

Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka and I make no money from this story.

Summary: General Mansfield wants to find out more about the underground complex and he can't do it alone. Meanwhile, Eureka is business as usual with no shortage of crises Allison/Jack. Mansfield/OFC.

Author's Note: Once again, thanks for reviewing **Dragon77**. I love getting feedback about how I'm doing. I'm glad my story is being enjoyed. I estimate the next update will be on Sunday given that while I am still sick, I am no longer staying at home and falling behind on things. I should be able to get the next chapter and my exam reveiw done by Sunday night. I hope. I don't want to rush too much, or the quality of my writing may suffer.

Chapter Two

"What condition?" she asked curiously. It didn't really matter all that much as she would agree to almost anything to keep Carter in Eureka. She just hoped that he didn't know that, it would give him an advantage over her.

"What happened cannot be allowed to happen again, the Sheriff needs more manpower. I was thinking another deputy might help keep the town running more smoothly," he suggested.

Allison smiled for the first time that day. "That sounds like an excellent idea. Things can get out of hand in Eureka, but that's only to be expected."

As she said the last part, her voice had an edge to it. Her subtle jab at him didn't go unnoticed, but he wasn't about to compromise his entire plan over a petty insult, particularly when it had some justification. He knew it wasn't Carter's fault, crises in Eureka tended to be caused by the simple fact that so many geniuses were concentrated in one place, and his admission of rash behaviour had been an honest one. He had been hasty, that was true, but now he had an opportunity, one that he wouldn't throw away. "Yes, they certainly can. I trust you'll pass along the good news to Sheriff Carter," he asked, knowing the answer before he heard it.

"Yes sir."

"Then, I'll let you know who the new deputy will be before the end of the week. Until then."

When he hung up and she immediately called Carter.

* * *

Mansfield turned his cell phone off and flipped it closed. Angela's idea had been a good one: give Allison the Sheriff and slip in some new personnel under the guise of improving how Eureka operated. It was a simple concept, but a nice trick all the same and a perfect way to get her inside the town without too much work or suspicion. Perhaps it was the simplicity of the whole thing that impressed him. Nothing to get confused about or arouse reasonable suspicion. Not yet anyway; there was still work to be done and plenty of chances to screw it up with a wrong move.

He had yet to inform Ms. Blake of his personal choice for deputy. That would come in a few days, that way it would seem as if he took the time to narrow down a list to the very best candidate, which he already had. He placed his phone on the bedside table and rolled onto his side. "It's done. I'll let her know you were my choice in a couple of days. Can you get a background put together by then?" he asked.

"I can call in some favours, it will be done in time. "

He nodded his approval. He raised a hand to brush his fingers against her jaw before pressing his lips against hers in a searing kiss. Without breaking the kiss, he straddled her waist and pinned her down on the bed with his body, his hands sliding deftly under her shirt. He ground his hips against hers, ensuring she felt his arousal, as he pushed his tongue into her mouth. The fact that she wasn't fighting him for control, that she was 'allowing' him to be aggressive only turned him on even more. Despite his larger size, he knew that she could easily take control from him. A fact he found incredibly arousing. He liked women who were strong and powerful, he liked them a lot.

Her hands, which he had not bothered to restrain, were making their way under his shirt. She stroked his sides before moving her hands up his chest to tease his nipples. He broke contact for a moment to strip off his shirt, revealing a strong, muscular chest with a light dusting of hair. Leaning back down, he began unbuttoning her shirt, following his fingers with his mouth, kissing her skin as he exposed it, she wasn't wearing anything underneath. He paid particular attention to her breasts, taking each aching peak into his mouth; she moaned loudly at the feel of his hot mouth against her sensitive skin and dug her fingernails into his shoulders, pulling him closer.

Just as he was working the button of her jeans open and continuing to follow the path of his hands with his mouth, she forcefully pulled him back up into a fierce kiss. He had forgotten how much she disliked oral sex. He finished undoing her jeans and slid them, along with her panties, down her legs far enough that she was able to kick them off. He then lowered his hands to the button on his own jeans. He made quick work of the rest of his clothing and while he was at it, fully removed her shirt. He kissed her roughly as he guided himself into her. He wasn't gentle, not at all. He didn't make any effort to begin slowly, he began with hard, forceful thrusts, but she didn't object; they both liked rough and aggressive. She dragged her fingernails over his back as he thrust into her, leaving angry red trails in their wake. As they neared completion and climaxed his teeth sunk into her right shoulder, hard enough to draw a small amount of blood, and her nails dug painfully into his back. Finally, he collapsed on top of her for a moment before rolling over onto his back. Sated, she curled up against his side and was perfectly content to let him slide an arm around her shoulder and draw her closer. Soon she would have a lot of work to do, but for the time being she could afford to relax and just enjoy the warm body next to hers.

* * *

Carter was still standing in the kitchen, contemplating another beer when Zoey arrived home from school. All things considered, it was probably better that he was sober for this anyway. He sighed and turned to face his daughter. Before he even spoke, he could tell that she knew something was wrong. "Zoey, we have to talk about something," he said. "Maybe we'd better sit down." The scared look on her face broke his heart. They both knew that conversations starting with 'we have to talk' rarely had a positive outcome, especially when followed with the suggestion of sitting down.

TBC


	4. Chapter 3

Title: Contagion

Author: A-Mind-of-Disturbed-Current

Rating: T

Pairing: Jack Carter/Allison Blake, General Mansfield/OFC

Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka and I make no money from this story.

Summary: General Mansfield wants to find out more about the underground complex and he can't do it alone. Meanwhile, Eureka is business as usual with no shortage of crises Allison/Jack. Mansfield/OFC.

Author's Note: Okay, whew. I'm glad I got this one finished. I had to write it during breaks from studying and I stayed up a bit late last night just to get more done. Now all I need to do is keep studying and pass my exams tomorrow. I figure that I will be able to upload the next chapter on Tuesday since I will be finished my exams (both are tomorrow) and I not only have Tuesday off, but I have a few more days after that until the next semester begins during which I will have much free time to write.

Chapter Three

"Dad, what's wrong?" she asked in a small voice as he led her over to the couch. Her father hadn't seemed right since what happened with the underground complex, but she thought it would pass like it did every other time. He would drink beer, watch baseball and not talk about it. That was how he coped, which was fine because she didn't really want to talk about how she had come close to dying anyway. But the fact that he was talking and to her, well, that wasn't a good sign in itself. Not to mention the fact that he hadn't watched baseball in a couple of days.

"Honey, remember when you were sick after finding that secret passage?" he began, trying to ease himself into the topic, building up to the bombshell that he knew would devastate her. Zoey loved it in Eureka, she hadn't loved the idea of being here at first, but she had adjusted better than he could have hoped.

"Yeah…of course I do. Are you okay?" she asked.

He continued, struggling to meet her eyes, "Well, I did everything I could to help you, absolutely everything, and I seem to have made some people very angry."

"Dad, what are you saying? What happened?"

There was no more avoiding it, he just had to come out and say it. "Zoey, what happened was that General Mansfield--"

S.A.R.A.H.'s voice interrupted his confession, "Sheriff Carter, sorry to interrupt. You have an urgent call from Allison Blake."

Carter wasn't sure how he felt about this, it would all depend on the news she had to give him. This was either really good news or really bad news; he didn't dare to hope it was the former and didn't want to consider the latter, but at least now the uncertainty would be gone. "Put her through S.A.R.A.H.," he said, then nearly shouted what he said next, "wait!" If it was bad news, he didn't want Zoey to find out by overhearing his conversation. She would certainly feel betrayed and angry. And he wanted to be the one to tell her, as much as it would hurt him to do so, it was the right thing to do. "I'll take this upstairs." He dashed up the stairs and into his bedroom, leaving a very confused and worried Zoey behind in the living room. "Okay S.A.R.A.H., put her through now." He sat down on the edge of his bed.

Allison's face appeared on the wall. "Carter, why didn't you answer right away?"

"Sorry, I was with Zoey and I haven't told her yet. I had to get out of there, didn't want her to find out this way if…you know." He didn't dare say it, as if his words at this point could change the outcome.

"Well, she won't have to. I finally got through to Mansfield. He backed down," her voice was filled with excitement.

"Just like that?" He couldn't believe it, he wouldn't have to leave Eureka after all. He wouldn't have to leave Allison.

"Well, he had one condition, but it's nothing."

"What was it?"

"Hiring of a new deputy to help keep the town under control."

"That's it?"

"Yes. Sheriff Carter, you are hereby officially reinstated," she said with a grin.

He sighed with relief. "Hold on, I just have to go tell Zoey that everything's going to be fine. I'll be right back."

"I thought you didn't tell her."

"No, I didn't, but I was about to and I think I made her worry."

Allison nodded.

Carter hurried back downstairs to where Zoey was waiting. "Zoey!" he called.

She looked up with a start. "Dad, are you okay?

"I'm great. Zoey, everything is going to be okay now, I promise."

"Dad, you're scaring me. One minute you're talking to me like something terrible has happened and the next you're grinning at me like you've just had the best day of your life."

"Honey, I'm sorry I scared you, but really, believe me, everything is going to be okay now." He walked back up the stairs and returned to his bedroom.

"Is Zoey okay?"

"Yeah, I think she's a bit freaked at my sudden change in mood, but I'll explain everything to her later. I'm just glad I can stay in Eureka."

"Me too."

"I assume you haven't called Jo yet."

"You were my first call."

"Right. I'll call her later." He hesitated, unsure whether he should voice what he was thinking. "Allison, would you, um, like to have dinner with me tonight?"

"Uh, sure. How about at my place? Kevin is staying with a friend tonight."

He found that interesting, that he invited her to dinner, but she turned around and invited him over to her place. He wasn't sure what to think about the invitation or what it meant. Of course, it could just be that she still wasn't used to S.A.R.A.H., the last time they had been alone in the smart house, Allison had found its personality a bit disconcerting. Whatever the reason, he decided to go with it. "Yeah, sounds great, do you want me to bring anything?"

"No, don't worry about it. Can you come over at about seven?"

"I'll be there," he said.

They said their goodbyes and disconnected the call. Then Carter called Jo, to tell her the good news. The irony of it all was that on what had seemed like the worst day of his life, he had been given two of the best possible pieces of news. First that he would not be forced from Eureka after all, he could have his job back. And second, Allison had accepted his offer of dinner and on top of that invited him to her place. He wondered whether she was going to cook a meal or have Vincent send something. Either way, he was adamant that dinner would go well. The last thing he wanted was to screw this up.

TBC


	5. Chapter 4

Title: Contagion

Author: A-Mind-of-Disturbed-Current

Rating: T

Pairing: Jack Carter/Allison Blake, General Mansfield/OFC

Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka and I make no money from this story.

Summary: General Mansfield wants to find out more about the underground complex and he can't do it alone. Meanwhile, Eureka is business as usual with no shortage of crises Allison/Jack. Mansfield/OFC.

Author's Note: For Jack and Allison's dinner, I simply chose what happens to be my absolute favourite meal. Hopefully this chapter is alright, I had a bit of trouble writing parts of it.

Chapter Four

All Angela had to do was make a few calls and it was set. She needed a background that was less high profile. Her sources inside the CIA and the various other agencies that made up the alphabet soup that was the world of government law enforcement and covert operations took care of classifying all her records to the point where Allison Blake would be able to find no record, no indication that there were any records to find. They also planted records in a couple of government databases, effectively establishing an employment history with a couple of different police forces following a stint in the army.

In this day and age it was hard to create a false identity that would pass all government checks and clearances at such a high level. It was much easier to "erase" a part of her identity, replacing those portions and retaining the rest. Particularly in a place like Eureka. Faking too much could easily get her caught in a town full of geniuses and highly advanced technology. So she would keep her name and her early history, but the rest had to be rewritten, lest her connection with the CIA and General Mansfield be revealed. It was as some people said, never trust a spook.

* * *

Carter checked himself in the mirror one last time before leaving the bathroom. He hoped his attire would be appropriate. He had gone for the casual, but not too casual look--slacks and a nice long-sleeved shirt. Zoey was sprawled across the couch with her textbooks and notebooks spread out all over the place. She had a physics test or something the next day which she was studying for. "Hey, Zoe," he called from the kitchen.

"Yeah?" She had that tone in her voice that meant she wanted to ask him for something. The question was whether she would ask for it now, or scheme some more and hit him with whatever _it _was later. He hoped it was later rather than sooner.

"I'm not sure when I'll be back; don't forget to eat something healthy for dinner." He carefully removed the flowers, which he gone into town to buy earlier, from their hiding place. He had carefully hidden them, after swearing S.A.R.A.H. to secrecy; funny how a smart house could be blackmailed.

"Dad?"

At the sound of her voice, he froze. Apparently, she had decided that the time was now. He didn't want to tell Zoey that he was having dinner with Allison. Besides the fact that she was his daughter and he was sure that neither of them wanted to discuss his love life, she worked at Café Diem. If Vincent found out, the entire town would know in a matter of hours. And really, he didn't want that, not until he figured out exactly what his relationship with Allison was. But fortunately, a quick glance behind him revealed that Zoey hadn't looked away from the notebook she was reviewing; she hadn't seen the box or the flowers that he was carrying. "Yeah?"

"Would it be alright if I have a couple of friends over later?" she asked. "You know, to help me study," she quickly amended, not daring to look at her father.

Why not? What was the worst that could happen with S.A.R.A.H. supervising? She had certain…abilities that allowed him a measure of comfort. "Sure, but no boys. I mean it Zoey. Did you hear that S.A.R.A.H.?"

"Yes Sheriff Carter, no boys are to enter the house." Sometimes he really loved living in a smart house. Although there were drawbacks, like that time his house held him and a number of others hostage and almost vaporized Zoey… Yep, definite drawbacks.

He grinned and left before she could see the flowers and effectively escaping her protests. "And don't stay up too late!" he called over his shoulder as the door closed.

As soon as he was gone, Zoey closed her notebook. "S.A.R.A.H., I know you know where he's going."

"Don't even ask. I am not at liberty to say."

"Come on S.A.R.A.H.!" she pleaded. Somehow she knew that blackmail would not work this time. And she was right, her father had gotten to S.A.R.A.H. first.

* * *

Jack was nervous. He felt like a teenager going on a first date with the girl he had a crush on. He thought it was ridiculous, he was so much older and he had even been married. It wasn't like he hadn't done this before. But Allison wasn't like any woman he'd ever met before. He had met beautiful women before, but never one so beautiful, smart and captivating as Allison. Taking a deep breath, he ascended the steps leading up to her porch and knocked on her door. A moment later she opened the door. She looked stunning. Not that she didn't always, but she always wore business suits to work and seeing her dressed casually in jeans and a button-up shirt was a wonderful change. "Hey, come on in." He followed her inside. "Dinner's just about ready."

He followed her into the kitchen, the bouquet hidden behind his back, "Allison, I brought something for you." He pulled out the flowers from behind his back and offered them to her.

"They're lovely," she smiled and inhaled their scent. "Thank you Jack, you didn't have to bring me flowers."

He loved how his name sounded when she said it. "I wanted to."

She found an empty vase in the cupboard and after filling it with water, placed the flowers in it. "Would you mind putting this in the dining room?" she asked, pointing in the correct direction. He took the vase from her and carried it into the dining room; the table was already set and there was a bottle of wine waiting to be opened. He was just placing the flowers in the centre of the table when she called to him from the kitchen, "Dinner's ready, can you pour the wine?"

"Yeah, sure." He took the corkscrew from beside the bottle and opened it. He poured a reasonable amount into the two glasses set out on the table. He could hear her moving around in the kitchen and about a minute later, she entered carrying two bowls of pasta. And the food smelled good. Really good. After a couple of bites, Jack spoke, "This is really great Allison." And he wasn't exaggerating. If anything, his compliment did not do the meal justice. The wine was excellent, the pasta was cooked to perfection and had a tomato sauce with little bits of mushrooms and baby shrimp mixed in. The dessert that followed was just as wonderful, a homemade cherry cheesecake, with a graham cracker crust, cream cheese mix and cherries on top.

TBC


	6. Chapter 5

Title: Contagion

Author: A-Mind-of-Disturbed-Current

Rating: T

Pairing: Jack Carter/Allison Blake, General Mansfield/OFC

Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka and I make no money from this story.

Summary: General Mansfield wants to find out more about the underground complex and he can't do it alone. Meanwhile, Eureka is business as usual with no shortage of crises Allison/Jack. Mansfield/OFC.

Author's Note: This chapter is mostly just a transition chapter, so not much is happening here, but don't worry, this story is going to get more eventful soon. My next update is likely to be late tomorrow or early Friday as I have some things I have to get done. And thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I love getting feedback about my stories.

Chapter Five

The door creaked open slowly. "Ms. Blake? Allison?" The woman frowned. Allison Blake was not a woman who forgot about her son despite the busy schedule made inevitable by her position as head of Global Dynamics. When she hadn't shown up to get Kevin, Mrs. Newton had become concerned, even more so when an hour had passed with no word from her. The fact that no one had answered the door when she knocked was troubling and only added to her worries. The door was unlocked, and on its own that wasn't necessarily a cause for alarm, but along with everything else, it painted a worrisome picture.

She made sure that Kevin stayed behind her as she entered the house. She knew that there was probably a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this--a crisis at Global that had her called away or something similar--but it was better to be cautious. Inside, everything looked as it should, nothing appeared to be disturbed or suspicious in any way. And then she entered the living room. It was then that she knew that nothing was amiss. She turned to Kevin. "Kevin, why don't you go put your things in your room?" He shuffled off, following her directive. She smiled at the scene before her for a brief moment.

There was Sheriff Carter, slumped in the corner of the couch and fast asleep. And beside him was Allison Blake, curled up against his side, equally peaceful. Now she had a pretty good idea why Kevin had come over to her house to play with her son. Allison Blake wanted the house quiet for her date. And with Sheriff Carter no less. Well, the town would certainly be interested to know that the single Sheriff was now off-limits. While Carter wasn't aware of it, there were more than a couple of women in Eureka who fancied a relationship with him. He wasn't the smartest, but he had another kind of intelligence, one that seemed to often be what Eureka needed to solve its problems.

"Allison," she called softly. This time she got a response.

Allison stirred slightly, moving closer to Carter and then suddenly became aware of another presence in the room. "Oh, I guess I fell asleep, Kevin--"

"He's in his room, I brought him over."

She carefully extricated herself, lifting Carter's arm to rest along the back of the couch, moving it from the position around her shoulders. Somehow, he didn't wake. The man slept like the dead at times. This was the second time she had fell asleep with him, though the first time it had been at his place and she hadn't woken up in his arms. "Look," she began, steering Mrs. Newton out of the room, "I am so sorry about not being there to get Kevin--"

"It's no problem at all, really." And she meant it. Kevin was a sweet kid and both him and Allison hadn't been the same since Stark's death. They both deserved to be happy and if the Sheriff could help matters…

"Still, I'd prefer that you didn't tell anyone about this. At least not until I figure out exactly what this is."

"No problem."

_

* * *

It was mid-morning when Carter arrived home. When he walked into his house, he really wished it was a school day. Unlike the worst scenario he had imagined, Zoey had not managed to cause destruction with whatever she had gotten up to in his absence, but this was almost as bad. Whomever Zoey had invited over had left some time ago, and Zoey was seated at the kitchen table in her pyjamas and eating some cereal. The frightening part to him was the look on her face when she took in his appearance and his admittedly slightly wrinkled clothes. The questions began almost immediately._

"Well, somebody had a late night," she commented, casually sipping her orange juice.

"Zoey!"

"I guess dinner went well."

"S.A.R.A.H.! You told her!"

"I did not, Sheriff Carter. But I think you just did."

"Then how--oh damn." He realized his mistake. He should have kept it cool and remained calm and by not doing so he had only succeeded in further validating her suspicions.

Zoey was grinning from ear to ear. "So who was it dad? Who'd you go on a date with? Jo? Callie? Allison? That woman from the post office? Who?"

"What woman at the post office?" he asked, seeking to distract her from Allison.

"That one who keeps calling about suspicious packages."

Well, that explained a lot, he thought. While some of the packages were admittedly strange, including one that glowed, some were perfectly normal. "Some of those packages were a bit odd…the things you can order online these days…" he protested.

"Then it was Allison."

"How do you figure that?"

"Well, you wouldn't go on a dinner date with just anyone, and get back so late. It'd have to be someone you knew well or someone who really has a thing for you. As weird as that is."

"So?"

"So, process of elimination. There are only four women who fit into those categories. It can't be Jo because she was out with Zane, Callie is probably still upset with you and the postal worker is just too weird, even for you."

"Thanks Zoe. Nice to know the postal worker who has a crush on me is weirder than I am."

"Hey, I'm fine with you dating, just don't get all weird about it okay? But, uh, if you get to stay out all night with someone who I will pretend is some mystery woman, then shouldn't I--"

"Don't even finish that sentence. I don't even approve of you having a boyfriend at all, so don't push it." He grabbed a bagel and headed upstairs. He had to change for work, he was already late as it was.

TBC


	7. Chapter 6

Title: Contagion

Author: A-Mind-of-Disturbed-Current

Rating: T

Pairing: Jack Carter/Allison Blake, General Mansfield/OFC

Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka and I make no money from this story.

Summary: General Mansfield wants to find out more about the underground complex and he can't do it alone. Meanwhile, Eureka is business as usual with no shortage of crises Allison/Jack. Mansfield/OFC.

Author's Note: Sorry I didn't get this up sooner, I am not feeling well and probably won't be writing much more today, so there won't be a new chapter until Saturday or Sunday. And yes, Allison is pregnant. If you recall the last episode that aired, she reveals her pregnancy to Carter and the fact that it is Nathan's child (which makes sense as she would have married Nathan if he had not have died). This will be a bigger part of the story later on, I promise I have not forgotten about it. I continue to be thankful to those who review. I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know what you think. Please continue to do so.

Chapter Six

Carter walked into the Sheriff's Office, his office. Jo was already there, sitting at her desk and reading a book. He couldn't tell what it was, but it was probably military-related knowing her. If it was something else, she would be hiding it…come to think of it, perhaps she was hiding something behind the book. Perhaps one of those fashion magazines she pretended she didn't like and had Zoey buy for her. "Hey, Jo, what's going on?"

Jo looked up from the book she was reading and promptly closed it, tucking it into one of her desk drawers. "Well, I was starting to wonder whether you were ever going to show up to work again. I was waiting for you."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Woke up late." He scratched his head absently; if the day was as slow as indicated by her book reading, she wouldn't have said she was waiting for him. Something was up. "So, what have we got today?"

"The usual, except, Taggart lost one of his creatures. We need to find it and capture it, preferably alive…"

Oh, this was not sounding good. It wasn't good at all. This was Eureka, so it was unlikely that whatever had escaped would be as harmless as a stray cat or dog. In fact, it could be potentially deadly. But then, Allison wasn't present and had not called, so it could not be too dangerous if she had not been informed yet. "What sort of creature?" But it did explain it. After her one-night-stand with Taggart, she was much more reluctant to see him, especially alone.

She smirked. "He was a bit evasive about that."

"Of course he was. I think it's time we paid Taggart a visit."

They walked out of the building together, toward Carter's jeep. "So, why'd Mansfield re-hire you? I mean, he fired you, what changed his mind?" she asked.

Carter considered that and thought about what Allison had said last night…

_They relaxed on the couch in her living room. He sat in the corner of the couch, leaning back, with his left arm resting comfortably around Allison's shoulders. She was curled up against his side. "Allison?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_I'm glad you convinced the general to let me stay."_

"_I'm glad you're here," she replied._

"_How'd you do it?" He asked the question that had plagued his mind since he got the news. Mansfield wasn't the kind of guy who just backed down. He just wasn't._

"_Convince Mansfield?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_I didn't have to. He had made his mind up by the time I managed to get him on the phone."_

"_Really?"_

"_He said that he had been rash, that he wants to make Eureka safer and that keeping you and hiring a new deputy would help do that."_

"_Didn't you find that a bit strange?"_

"_Yeah. I did. The way it all happened was strange, especially because he had been so angry, but I don't see what other motivation he could have."_

He still couldn't figure out what Mansfield was up to. Maybe it was nothing, maybe the general did feel badly about his 'rash' behaviour, but his gut was warning him about something. His mind wouldn't leave the issue alone. Even if Mansfield chose the new deputy with the intent of having an informant, what could he gain? If he wanted information, he'd be better off with someone inside Global Dynamics who would actually have clearance to get at the sensitive information. But then, Mansfield himself had a significant amount of clearance. So what was he after? In any case, once this new deputy arrived, he would be keeping an eye on her, just in case.

"Carter?"

He was holding the keys in his hand, but he had not unlocked the vehicle and suspected that he had been standing there like that for some time now. He unlocked the door, pulled it open and pressed the button to unlock the other doors. "Oh, uh, I don't really know. All he wanted was a new deputy."

"What?" Her hand froze on the jeep's door handle.

Carter quickly realized his verbal blunder. "Not to replace you, in addition to you."

Jo visibly relaxed. "Why?"

"He wants Eureka to run more smoothly and he thinks that more help can, well, help."

"Right, so when do we get this new deputy?"

"I don't know. Allison said Mansfield would let her know of his choice sometime this week."

"Hmm." That was all she said before they climbed into Carter's jeep and headed for Taggart's lab. The man had a lot of explaining to do. All Carter could hope was that whatever was loose in the town was not too dangerous or hard to catch. The last thing he needed was for another situation to spiral out of control. Mansfield would likely not be so forgiving of any future major screw-ups, at least not for a while.

_

* * *

Alfred Daniels went over the formulae on the blackboard in his lab one more time. He was sure it was correct and would work, but it never hurt to be cautious, particularly when working with volatile compounds. After making comparisons with his notes, checking the results of his tests and double-checking everything, he came to the conclusion that he expected, he had not erred. Now it was time to move on to the next phase of the experiment. He eyed the cage of lab mice ready and waiting for experimentation._

He had passed all of the basic tests designed to test the serum's stability and evaluate other such safety concerns. It was time for the next step, his first live-subject trials. A long way from being ready for practical use, but he was getting closer. He would have to make a larger batch of his serum to use on the mice, more than he had made for the initial tests. Daniels would ensure that half of the mice were given the serum and keep the other half serum-free for comparison purposes. Different coloured colours would make one group distinct from the other.

Pleased with himself, he began to gather the equipment and chemicals that he would need to proceed. Soon they would all see his genius and he would have the recognition he so greatly deserved. Smiling, he got to work, there was no time to waste.

TBC


	8. Chapter 7

Title: Contagion

Author: A-Mind-of-Disturbed-Current

Rating: T

Pairing: Jack Carter/Allison Blake, General Mansfield/OFC

Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka and I make no money from this story.

Summary: General Mansfield wants to find out more about the underground complex and he can't do it alone. Meanwhile, Eureka is business as usual with no shortage of crises Allison/Jack. Mansfield/OFC.

Author's Note: I am feeling much better now, hopefully I will continue to feel this way. A lot of people are sick right now, something really nasty is going around. Tomorrow I will be back at school, so updates will likely be every other day at the most and will occur later in the day, after I get home from school. Thank you to everyone who is reviewing, I love knowing that my story is being enjoyed.

Chapter Seven

Carter pounded his fist against the door. "Taggart!" he yelled. "Open up!" But still there was no answer. "Where is he? I thought he wanted our help…"

"He's probably out looking for whatever it is that he's lost." Jo quickly scanned the surrounding woods with her eyes. If she saw anything, she didn't say anything.

"Oh, great. So now we have to find the creature and Taggart?"

"It seems that way."

"Perfect. This just keeps getting better and better."

"At least we know he's probably somewhere in these woods."

Carter didn't find that very comforting.

Jo walked away and returned a moment later with a rather large gun. "Let's not take any chances." They started walking into the denser areas of the forest. She had her gun at the ready, but Carter had not drawn his weapon, though his hand rested on the butt of his gun. Jo stopped abruptly. "Look. There's blood here, not much, but it might be Taggart's."

That made him even more uneasy. If that was Taggart's blood, that could mean that the creature was more dangerous than they might have initially suspected. Taggart was an accomplished hunter, if it got him, they certainly had something to worry about. Neither had to speak these thoughts aloud to alert the other to this possibility, their body language took care of that. And Carter drew his gun, holding it loosely at his side as he walked. They had to find Taggart or the creature fast. Either way, they would be paying a visit to Global Dynamics. Allison would need to know, and it seemed doubtful that Taggart had notified her, not if it was one of his little off-site projects.

_

* * *

_

All the details had been ironed out. Soon she would travel to Eureka and begin her assignment. While she had been in far more dangerous situations throughout her career, this one would present a different kind of challenge. The difficulty would be outwitting a town full of geniuses. She would have to play it very carefully, especially over the initial adjustment period. But there could be little more planning until the assignment began, to think too much about this without sufficient information was a bad idea. In her experience it could lead to false assumptions and conclusions.

She was still at the apartment, though she was alone, at least for the moment. She couldn't see the point in leaving. She had an apartment just outside of Washington D.C., but there was little there. What was there was packed up in boxes for the most part, ready to be moved out at a moment's notice. That was not where she actually lived though. It was one of her 'crash-pads', relatively cheap apartments she used when she was in the area. These days, she didn't need so many as in the past, but one close to Washington was still necessary. But when she could stay here, what purpose would moving serve? Besides, Mansfield would be returning later on and tomorrow she would be leaving for Eureka, all being well.

_

* * *

They followed the trail of blood a ways into the forest, until they came upon something unexpected. A piece of raw, bloody meat lay in a small clearing. But that wasn't what had caught Jo's eye. Her gaze was directed upward, at the trees towering above them. Carter looked as well, and he didn't see anything at first, but then he saw it. "Taggart, get down from there!"_

"Shhh…and get away from my bait. You're going to scare it away!" Taggart was dressed in full camouflage gear with twigs and leaves glued to his helmet and carried some type of weapon. Knowing Taggart, it was probably a tranquilizer gun. He wouldn't want to kill his creature.

"Yeah, no. Come on down from there, you have some explaining to do."

Taggart seemed to consider not complying, but the expressions on the law enforcement officials' faces made him reconsider that course of action. That and Jo was exceedingly dangerous when she was mad. "Hold your horses." He climbed down from the tree slowly, jumping the last couple of meters. "Now, what can I do for you today, Sheriff."

Carter placed his hands on his hips. "You were the one who called me, remember?"

"Yeah, about that. Nothing to worry about. You certainly didn't have to come all the way out here."

The two of them weren't buying Taggart's smile and words. Carter wasn't going to let this go. "I know, you asked us to keep an eye out. What are we looking for?"

"Oh. nothing important, just a little thing really."

"Taggart."

He scratched his head and looked around furtively. "It was…um…a chimera."

"A what?"

Jo spoke up. "That's an animal with the head of a lion, body of a goat and tail of a serpent."

"I know that, it's just, I thought they were mythical…"

The two simultaneously turned to look at Taggart. "They are. Tag, you know you're not supposed to--"

"Don't worry, they still are," he interrupted.

"But you said--"

"I never succeeded. I've been working on it for years, slowly manipulating a goat's genetic code bit by bit."

"So…there's a goat running around out here? You called us for a goat?"

"Not just any goat--"

"Yeah, I know, genetically modified goat."

"Let him finish Carter."

"Thank you Jo. It's a goat, yes, but with the tail of a serpent. I haven't got so far as the lion's head."

"Bottom line: is it dangerous?"

"I don't think so…but it's a fast little bugger and I can't afford to lose it, not after such progress."

"Does Allison know what you're doing?"

"Um…not exactly."

"You know I have to tell her, right? If this thing is dangerous or gets out of Eureka we're in serious trouble. You and Jo stay here and look for your goat-thing. I'm going to GD."

Not only would there be trouble, but Carter suspected that this experiment had not been okayed by GD and that while that might be alright with some experiments, genetic manipulation was something you didn't just get to mess around with. He wondered what other mythical creatures Taggart had locked up in his lab or was intending to create.

TBC


	9. Chapter 8

Title: Contagion

Author: A-Mind-of-Disturbed-Current

Rating: T

Pairing: Jack Carter/Allison Blake, General Mansfield/OFC

Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka and I make no money from this story.

Summary: General Mansfield wants to find out more about the underground complex and he can't do it alone. Meanwhile, Eureka is business as usual with no shortage of crises. Allison/Jack. Mansfield/OFC.

Author's Note: I am sorry I did not get this up sooner; I went back to school yesterday for the first time in a week and my sister "stole" the laptop during my writing time… So despite having planned out this chapter, I had no time to type it up. Because I wanted to get this chapter up as soon as I could, it's a little shorter than I would have liked as I did not have all that much time to write. Hopefully I can get the laptop back or my writing time will be severely limited, but I have to share it which means I don't always get it when I want. During this chapter I make reference to a season 1 episode, 01x09 "Primal". Thank you for reviewing everyone, as always I appreciate feedback. Please continue to review.

Chapter Eight

Carter found Allison working at her desk in her office. She had her laptop open and seemed to be intent on reading something on the screen. She was so absorbed in her work that she didn't notice his approach until he spoke. "Hey, Allison."

She looked up. "What's happened?" Her tone was somewhat resigned and for good reason. It seemed that there was always something going wrong in Eureka.

"Why would you think that something happened? Does something have to happen for me to stop by to see you?"

Allison just looked at him, waiting.

"Okay, so something did happen. Taggart lost a…thing."

"Very descriptive." She smirked. "Can you be a little more specific? Please tell me he didn't lose his nanites again."

Neither of them wanted a repeat of that incident, creepy service tunnels and multiple Starks was not a pleasant situation, although, Carter had never forgotten that kiss. Of course it had all been to save the world from being taken over by the nanite-Starks, but that didn't mean that he didn't enjoy it. Realizing that he hadn't spoken in response he hurriedly said, "Oh, no, nothing like that. This is much bigger than those nano-bugs."

Great. Bigger, meaning more dangerous and disruptive. "Carter."

"Well, I'm not sure exactly what it is, but it's some kind of genetically modified goat."

"A genetically modified goat? Taggart doesn't have any projects that involve goats…"

"That's what Taggart told me. He also said that you didn't know about this, so I think this is a personal project. He was trying to create a…chimera, I think. One of those mythical creatures he's s obsessed with."

Allison sighed. "He knows he's not supposed to genetically alter anything without permission. So now we have a chimera running around?" She briefly held a hand to her head, as if she had a headache. As the director of Global Dynamics that was hardly unprecedented. "Mansfield is coming here tomorrow! This is the last thing we need, he only just re-hired you. If he thinks you can't handle the job—"

"Mansfield is coming? Is he staying long?"

"No, he's just escorting the new deputy."

"Personally?"

"Apparently."

"Well, he doesn't have to know about the goat then. If no one mentions it and he doesn't see it, what's the problem?"

"You want me to lie to him?"

"No! Just to neglect to mention it. I mean, it's a goat, genetically modified, but hardly a matter of national security."

"Carter, everything here is a matter of national security," she pointed out.

"Point taken, but it's hardly catastrophic." Unlike some of the other incidents that had occurred in Eureka and put the fate of the world in jeopardy.

"What exactly did Taggart do to this goat?"

"All I know is that it has a serpent's tail; he said he didn't get as far as the lion's head."

"Is it dangerous?"

"I'm not really sure. Taggart said it isn't, but—" He didn't have to finish that thought. They both knew that sometimes Taggart's idea of what was dangerous and what wasn't dangerous was not consistent with others' opinions.

"It's a goat, so it should be easy to catch, right?"

"Taggart seems to think it might be difficult. Jo is helping him hunt it down, if anyone can find it, they can." That was true. He wouldn't want Jo hunting him. She could be really scary sometimes.

"They had better find it and fast. Dead or alive."

"I'll pass on the message." Taggart wasn't going to like that last part. "So, who's the new deputy?"

"Someone named Angela Rosen. Her file arrived this morning, but I haven't had much time to go over it."

"How about over dinner? Zoey's not going to be around…" he suggested hopefully.

"Sure."

He turned to leave, but remembered something he had been thinking about before he arrived. "Oh, you might want to have someone look at Taggart's off-site lab. If he's been working on creating a Chimera when he wasn't supposed to, he might have had other experiments." And I don't want to go in there, better some scientist from GD, he thought to himself.

"I'll send Fargo over."

"I'm not sure Fargo is the best choice…he tends to…complicate things."

"It has to be him, everyone is pretty busy around here right now. One of our scientists is about to begin the first trial of a promising new serum, on mice of course. Why don't you go with him?"

Damn. Now he would have to spend all afternoon poking through the lab and who knew what was hiding in there? And with Fargo… Well, at least if something happened, it would probably happen to Fargo, he had a habit of getting himself into bad situations, some of them downright absurd. "Good idea. I'll make sure he doesn't break anything…or let anything else out. So, see you at seven?"

"Sounds good."

TBC


	10. Chapter 9

Title: Contagion

Author: A-Mind-of-Disturbed-Current

Rating: T

Pairing: Jack Carter/Allison Blake, General Mansfield/OFC

Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka and I make no money from this story.

Summary: General Mansfield wants to find out more about the underground complex and he can't do it alone. Meanwhile, Eureka is business as usual with no shortage of crises. Allison/Jack. Mansfield/OFC.

Author's Note: I was going to post this sooner, but shit happened (read on and you'll see exactly what) Ugh. So I got the laptop back, but the Internet died. Well, not so much died as went loopy and had an intermittent connection for most of the day. I had a hard time getting it online long enough to get this up. I am doomed when it comes to computers, I swear. The internet connection had better be fixed again soon. I hate not being fully connected.

Thanks for the reviews, I love the response I'm getting. Another chapter by late Friday or early Saturday, depending on how long my computer troubles persist (my sister also wants the laptop back tonight…). I think my dad is going to get someone to look at our network, but if not, I can try to get the next chapter done by tomorrow so I can post from school. It all depends on how productive I can be (I can't stay up too late, I need to be alert tomorrow).

Chapter Nine

Carter pushed open the door to Taggart's lab slowly and peered inside. The lights weren't on and there seemed to be few windows, so he couldn't see much, but at least there didn't seem to be anything in there waiting to jump out at Fargo and the Sheriff, at least not in the immediate vicinity of the door. He pushed it fully open and stepped inside. Still, nothing happened and Fargo managed enough bravery to step out from his position of hiding behind Carter. Carter flicked the light switch near the door, bringing the room out of darkness.

The lab was a mess. Papers and equipment were strewn all over the tables and floor. And it wasn't just that Taggart was a messy person, he wasn't; the lab looked like a wild animal had been running around and crashing into all the furniture, even managing to tip over some of the tables and smaller pieces of equipment. Of course that was quite accurate, an animal had been loose in the lab at one point, before it apparently escaped into the woods. But the damage seemed to largely have arisen from collisions with stationary objects, there was no evidence of bite or claw marks, or really any of the alarming signs that Carter had feared he might see. This confirmed Taggart's claim, the genetically-modified goat was probably not very dangerous. Clumsy, maybe, but not dangerous. That was a relief.

There was a door leading to at least one more room at the far side of the lab. Probably where Taggart kept his experiments; there were no cages in this particular lab. "Fargo, don't touch anything that looks strange or dangerous." Leaving Fargo to poke through equipment he couldn't even give a name to and ignoring his protests at the "attack" on his intelligence not to mess with dangerous things, he approached the door. It was large, metal and rather forbidding in appearance, but he had to open it. It opened into another lab, this one with little equipment and a number of cages. Presumably where Taggart kept his creatures.

_

* * *

"That was great." Allison smiled, leaning back in her chair._

"Yeah, S.A.R.A.H. is a great cook, I can't even make toast."

"Thank you Ms. Blake, Sheriff Carter."

Out of force of habit, Allison looked around for the source of the voice. "Okay, that's still really disconcerting."

"I have you agree with you there." He looked up at the ceiling and raised his voice, "Hey, S.A.R.A.H., would you mind going offline for a while?"

"Offline Sheriff Carter?" S.A.R.A.H.'s electronic voice had an oddly curious tone to it. He hoped that he was right in his judgement that she would not question him directly about the matter in front of a guest, much less Allison herself.

"Yeah, just for the night, alright?" He desperately hoped she would leave it at that.

"Very well Sheriff Carter. Have a pleasant evening. Now powering down, back-up systems engaged."

"Is she really offline?"

"Why would she lie?"

"Oh, I don't care if she listens, it's just weird having your house talk to us like S.A.R.A.H. is a person in the room with us."

"It takes some getting used to, that's for sure." They sat silently for a moment, and then he spoke again, "So, uh, why don't we get started on that file?"

"Sure." She walked over to the couch in the living room, where he had left her purse and a paper copy of the file. She suspected that Jack would prefer a hardcopy as opposed to the electronic version that she had been sent. "Did you find anything at Taggart's?"

"Not really. He was probably telling the truth, there didn't seem to be anything contradicting what he told me."

"No more mythical creatures?"

"Fargo thinks he was planning to make some more from the research he found, but except for the cage that the goat escaped from, all the cages were empty and clean. I don't think he got that far."

"That's good. I'm still going to have to talk to him though. He wasn't supposed to be working on that project without clearance from GD." She took the file from its position on the couch beside her and placed it on the table. "Now, let's find out who Angela Rosen is." She opened the file.

Jack sat down beside her and leaned forward to see the file. It was quite thick. They began sifting through the many sheets of paper inside, reading them together. Of course, they didn't know it, but most of the recent information was false or half-truths, made up for the very purpose of misleading them. But they didn't know that. There were a few commendations, enough to justify her appointment to the position of deputy in a place as high profile as Eureka, but not too many and there were a number of complaints as well, all of which were relatively minor and generally arose from going about normal police business, which criminals obviously objected to.

Despite all this, they were suspicious. It was the whole situation and maybe just a little about the fact that the file was entirely not suspicious. But there were no grounds for their suspicions, at least nothing concrete. It was entirely possible for someone to have a record that was entirely acceptable like hers, but Allison just sensed something was amiss and Jack's gut feeling was in agreement. Perhaps it was the way Mansfield just changed his mind or how he was bringing her to Eureka personally. Both had plausible explanations, but they knew something had to be wrong, they just weren't sure what it was.

But there was nothing that they could do. If Mansfield was planning something, they had no proof, and even if they did, neither could see what this would accomplish. No, Angela Rosen was arriving in Eureka in less than twelve hours, all they could do was ensure that someone kept an eye on her, just in case.

TBC


	11. Chapter 10

Title: Contagion

Author: A-Mind-of-Disturbed-Current

Rating: T

Pairing: Jack Carter/Allison Blake, General Mansfield/OFC

Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka and I make no money from this story.

Summary: General Mansfield wants to find out more about the underground complex and he can't do it alone. Meanwhile, Eureka is business as usual with no shortage of crises. Allison/Jack. Mansfield/OFC.

Author's Note: Okay, so my internet connection got worse. All weekend it only came on for seconds at a time. So now I have to only post from school until this is fixed. It's really making me angry because I can't access all sites from school (damn firewall). Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and to all my readers, please be patient with me while I try to have my computer issues sorted out. I will continue to update as often as possible, but I can no longer predict when the next update will be with any certainty, computer access at school can sometimes be hard to come by.

Chapter Ten

Having reviewed the entire contents of the file, they settled into normal conversation after a few moments of silence. "So where's Zoey tonight?" Something about her query seemed strained to him, as if something was bothering her, something that she was trying to forget about. At least temporarily.

"At Pilar's house. She's sleeping over." He imagined that Zoey was complaining about him to Pilar right now, and how he 'never let her have any freedom'.

"And you're not worried about what she might be getting up to?" Allison, and most of Eureka, was aware of Jack's tendency to worry about and be over-protective of his daughter. Everyone agreed that in the past he had occasionally taken things too far, including the time he had nearly forbidden Zoey from ever working at Café Diem again. So it was surprising for him to be so at ease with her out of the house.

"Nope."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Pilar's a good kid, besides, it's not a school night."

She almost laughed. He couldn't entirely trust a teenager, he just couldn't. That much was evident in his tone and the end of his comment, but at least he had given his daughter the benefit of the doubt this time. Now hopefully, she wouldn't do anything foolish. To say that Jack's concerns were unfounded would be untrue. Zoey did tend to get herself into trouble now and then.

In response to her amused expression, he spoke again, "Well maybe just a little bit."

"I thought so."

He leaned back, resting his arms on the back of the couch and thought carefully before speaking. "How is Kevin doing, dealing with everything?"

Allison sighed. "He's having a really hard time. He doesn't really understand why Nathan isn't coming back." Jack knew it, this was what was bothering her. "I only wish I understood Kevin better, I would know how to help him."

His hand moved to touch her shoulder and he pulled her against his side, trying to comfort her. "You're doing the best you can, is there anything that you could do that you haven't tried?"

"Well, no, but…" her voice trailed off.

There wasn't really much He knew it was hard for her to accept the fact that there was little more that she could do for her autistic son. It would be hard for any parent, but to live in a place like Eureka, where there was such advanced technology and so many solutions for problems unsolvable elsewhere in the country and world.

"I can help but worry that I could be doing a better job."

"Hey," he turned sideways to face her, "You're a great mom."

He cupped her jaw and stroked her cheek gently with his thumb; she closed her eyes briefly and leaned into his touch. "I hope you're right," she said. Allison unconsciously placed a hand over her stomach.

"I know I'm right." He placed his other hand over hers, interlacing their fingers. Then she surprised him, leaning in to press her lips to his for a brief moment.

_The Next Day…_

Carter stretched before sitting up and dragging himself out of bed. Allison had not stayed the night. She had been right when she said that it would be altogether too fast. He had been thinking the same thing. It was probably for the best that she had left before their kiss had led to something more. Besides, not only did Allison have to get home to Kevin, who she had with a baby sitter, but he feared that she would not be ready so soon after Stark's no, Nathan's, death.

He moved through his morning routine quickly, and arrived downstairs earlier than he normally did. Zoey had still not returned home. He tried to tell himself that it was nothing, but he could not stop his mind from wondering about her whereabouts. Though he was saved further speculation, and the need to act on his temptation to contact her by S.A.R.A.H.'s reactivation.

"Good morning Sheriff Carter." Her voice was bright and cheery.

"Good morning S.A.R.A.H.."

"How was your date last night?"

He had to admit, he found the prospect of discussing his relationship with Allison with S.A.R.A.H. to be somewhat disturbing. "Fine." He could not ignore her, that wouldn't work, but it did not mean that he needed to tell her any details.

"Will Ms. Blake be joining us again tonight?"

"I don't think so, but S.A.R.A.H., I'm going to need you to keep this a secret."

"From Zoey?"

"Yes, and anyone else who might ask."

"Very well Sheriff Carter."

He wolfed down a quick breakfast of cereal and orange juice before heading for the door. "Let me know when Zoey gets home S.A.R.A.H.," he said before hurrying out. It would not do to be late for Mansfield's arrival, not after being fired and re-hired by the man in the span of less than a week. No, that would not do at all.

When he arrived at the designated area, Allison and Jo were already present. "Allison. Jo," he said. "Jo, have you found the goat yet?"

She shifted awkwardly. "Taggart thinks we're closing in on it."

"Closing in on it? Is it still within Eureka?"

"Yes."

Allison spoke up. "Good. Let's keep it that way. Catch it and fast. And not a word to Mansfield."

A helicopter appeared on the horizon. Mansfield. The three waited in silence as the helicopter approached carrying the mysterious new deputy.

_

* * *

Daniels was ready. After pulling an all-nighter, he had managed to create enough serum for his tests and managed to get his little red and blue collars on the rather uncooperative mice. Red denoted mice that had been injected and blue denoted the opposite. Some of the red collared mice would be mixed with the blue, but there would be a few red and a few blue collared mice that would be isolated in order to act as control groups. He was tired, but he wanted to get the experiment started right away, so he proceeded with preparing the injections and did not even notice the small amount of serum he dripped onto his hand and sleeve. Perhaps if he were not so fatigued, but even then, all indications were that the serum would have to be injected to affect an individual. So he was safe, wasn't he?_

TBC


	12. Chapter 11

Title: Contagion

Author: A-Mind-of-Disturbed-Current

Rating: T

Pairing: Jack Carter/Allison Blake, General Mansfield/OFC

Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka and I make no money from this story.

Summary: General Mansfield wants to find out more about the underground complex and he can't do it alone. Meanwhile, Eureka is business as usual with no shortage of crises. Allison/Jack. Mansfield/OFC.

Author's Note: Well my computer seems to be pretty much fixed by now, but I am pretty busy, so I can only probably update about twice a week. I forgot how busy I am when I am at school. And my family are being complete assholes about the laptop, so it looks like I won't have as much time to write anyway. Thanks for the reviews. I too have noticed the peculiar lack of Allison/Jack fics. It's just weird.

Chapter Eleven

The helicopter landed, but the pilot did not cut the engines. General Mansfield disembarked, wearing his uniform as he always did when he visited Eureka. And then he reached back and assisted a woman as she descended from the craft. Then the two of them approached Allison, Jo and Carter. Mansfield was the first to speak, "This is Angela Rosen, Eureka's new deputy."

They did not bother to hide their obvious appraisal of Rosen. They took in her appearance. She seemed fairly normal, which was exactly what she was aiming for, though she was accustomed to pretending, so she didn't feel awkward at all.. She was dressed in civilian clothing--slacks, a nice blouse and some half decent shoes--, her dark hair was tied back simply and she just looked…normal. "I'm looking forward to this assignment," she said.

"Well now that this has been taken care of," Mansfield began, "I have to get back to D.C.--" he stopped speaking abruptly as Taggart entered his field of vision in pursuit of a rather odd looking creature. Carrying a large tranquillizer weapon, he pursued the surprisingly agile creature at a stumbling run. He was shouting something, but he was just far enough away that it was difficult to determine what. Mansfield opened his mouth to speak and closed it again, not sure what to say. Allison started to explain, but he held up a hand to stop her. "I don't want to know, I really don't."

Allison nodded, and they, now numbering four, watched silently as he climbed back aboard the helicopter. A moment later it lifted off the ground, heading back to Washington. After the general had gone, Allison was the next to leave, but not before ordering Jo to rejoin Taggart in chasing the goat. "I want that thing caught, and when you do, send Taggart to GD. I'm going to have to have a talk to him about this."

"Understood."

And with their departure, Carter and Rosen were left alone. They headed back into town together. "So, uh, what's Eureka like?"

Carter thought back to his first time in Eureka and his first impressions of the town. "It takes some getting used to, but it's a wonderful place to live."

"That I can believe, though I suppose I've had a little more preparation than you did."

He blinked in surprise. "You know about--?"

"I glanced over some files in preparation for this assignment." No harm in admitting that she had time to prepare

"Right. Well, trust me, whatever you've done or seen, you haven't seen anything yet, Eureka is like nowhere else."

There was something in his tone that suggested that he too had been reading files and that there was something he found that wasn't quite right. The question was whether the doubt was general or specific, but it was likely the former as the people who had done her background would not have made any mistakes. It was probably the circumstances that surrounded her arrival that did not seem right, but naturally, any outsider would be viewed with some level of suspicion. So in time, she should be able to overcome it, as long as she didn't do anything to arouse further suspicion in the meantime.

* * *

At last they had it cornered. Taggart took aim and put a tranquillizer dart squarely into its hind flank. It stumbled forward a couple of steps before the tranquillizer took effect and its legs buckled and it collapsed. He moved forward and knelt beside the creature, stroking its neck before gently removing the dart. "Poor thing. You must have been so scared. Well, no worry, you're going home now." He scooped it up and got to his feet, turning to face Jo. "It's back to the lab now, I'm sure I can make it on my own."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

"Why not?" he demanded.

"I need to make sure you get to Global Dynamics, and soon. Allison Blake wants a word with you."

Taggart's face fell. He knew that he was going to be a in a whole lot of trouble shortly. The fact that he had caught his experiment would not likely earn him much mercy given that he technically was not supposed to be conducting that particular experiment in the first place. At least without approval…

"Alright, but I have to take this little fella back to the lab before he wakes up."

"Very well," she said, "But after that--"

"I know, I know, straight to GD."

He and Jo continued walking through the forest, heading back towards Taggart's off-site lab. They walking in silence, leaving Taggart free to think his thoughts in peace. He held the creature carefully in his arms, cradling it gently. There was no time to waste, he did not want it to wake up in transit. While it was not terribly dangerous and he had a certain fondness for his 'pet', a panicky goat was not something he expected to be pleasant, particularly if he was carrying said goat. Hopefully it would be safely back in its cage by then. And then he would be facing a much more dangerous adversary than he had the past couple of days.

TBC


	13. Chapter 12

Title: Contagion

Author: A-Mind-of-Disturbed-Current

Rating: T

Pairing: Jack Carter/Allison Blake, General Mansfield/OFC

Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka and I make no money from this story.

Summary: General Mansfield wants to find out more about the underground complex and he can't do it alone. Meanwhile, Eureka is business as usual with no shortage of crises. Allison/Jack. Mansfield/OFC.

Author's Note: I am so sorry this took so long. I have had barely enough time to sleep lately with all my commitments. I fully intend to update twice a week when possible. Of course, not next week because I have tests on most of the days and I also have to pick up my first pair of glasses since my distance vision is starting to really suck. Anyway, thank you for being so patient. I hope you enjoy this new chapter, now that the goat has been caught, I'm moving on to the next part of the plot, you'll see soon enough.

Chapter Twelve

Taggart sat outside Allison's office, trying to ignore Fargo, who was staring at him. He felt like a kid who had been sent to the principal's office; he knew he was in trouble, big trouble. Fargo got up and disappeared into the office for a moment. When he emerged he stopped in front of Taggart. "Ms. Blake will see you now."

He stood. "Fargo, is this all you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're a secretary."

"I am an administrative assistant," he said indignantly.

He shook his head and proceeded into the office. He had no doubts that Fargo held his 'important' position for the purpose of keeping him out of trouble. Having him answer the phone was much better than allowing him to run amok in a lab, despite any social awkwardness he might have. Allison was seated at her desk and scarcely looked up when he entered.

"Taggart, sit." He perched on the edge of one of the chairs in front of her desk and waited for her to continue. "I think we have a few things to discuss, beginning with what the hell were you doing? You know the rules regarding genetic manipulation, particularly involving your experiments."

"I began this experiment before Stark decided to impose that particular rule." Allison tensed at the contempt in his tone when he spoke of Nathan and simultaneously, Taggart realized his error. "Oh…I didn't mean…"

She was not going to discuss this with Taggart of all people. Remembering the pain of losing Nathan on a day to day basis was hard enough without trying to explain herself to this particular lunatic. "Taggart, Nathan made that rule in consultation with me after the last time one of your experiments escaped."

"It was harmless," he protested, "never hurt a fly."

"And what happens when you're wrong and it's not harmless? We are not discussing this again. You knew the rule applied to all experiments, present and future."

"I suppose I might have had that indication," he paused, "so, what happens now? Are you going to fire me?"

_

* * *

Angela looked around her new home for the time being. It was not large, but that didn't matter at all. She had no intention of staying longer than she had to. Somehow she had thought it would be harder to find somewhere to stay, especially after reading Carter's file and learning of the trouble he had finding a place to live. At least her house wasn't going to start talking anytime soon…she hoped. Unfortunately, her things, which consisted of most of the boxed up stuff from one of her many apartments, were not due to arrive until the next day. All she had with her was a small bag of the essentials and some spare clothes. And there was little furniture left behind from whatever scientist was the previous occupant. While she could sleep just about anywhere and she had certainly slept in worse places, sleeping on the floor was generally not one of her top choices. But there was little choice for the time being._

She stretched out on the floor, it was getting late and she was expected to report for duty in the morning. Like Mansfield, she didn't really want to know about the goat (or what Allison was going to do with Taggart), but she had a feeling that this was only the tip of the iceberg in Eureka. Just walking through the town with the Sheriff had been an interesting experience; Eureka was certainly nothing like anything she'd seen before. She hadn't been able to turn her head fast enough to take everything in, probably amusing Carter with her reaction. This was going to take some getting used to, which might be a problem considering her assignment. It might take some time to blend in to the degree that would be required to find out anything of importance.

Mansfield was not going to be happy about that when he found out, but hopefully he would continue to be patient. She wasn't exactly sure what kind of timeline he was expecting with this, or for that matter, what she expected. Angela made a mental note to ask him about it the following week. Their arrangement was to meet once every one or two weeks for a debriefing, outside of Eureka of course. He would only come to see her in Eureka if it was extremely important, which was a pity since she did enjoy his company in more ways than one.

_

* * *

Daniels frowned. This couldn't be right. He checked the results again. The mice who had been injected with the serum were all doing worse than before, they all seemed weaker, but the blood work and all the other tests he had done had come back perfectly normal and unchanged. But what was even stranger was that the mice who had not been injected, but had been mixed in with the red collared mice seemed weaker as well, though not to the same degree. Their results had come back negative as well. It just did not make any sense. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with the mice, and even if it was the serum, there were no cuts or other injuries to indicate a method for infecting the blue collared mice, there was no way that it could be transferred outside of the blood stream…was there? He shook his head. He was tired, maybe he was imagining things. Hell, maybe the mice were tired too. Maybe he would lock up his lab and take a couple of well-deserved days off._

TBC


	14. Chapter 13

Title: Contagion

Author: A-Mind-of-Disturbed-Current

Rating: T

Pairing: Jack Carter/Allison Blake, General Mansfield/OFC

Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka and I make no money from this story.

Summary: General Mansfield wants to find out more about the underground complex and he can't do it alone. Meanwhile, Eureka is business as usual with no shortage of crises. Allison/Jack. Mansfield/OFC.

Author's Note: Erg. I've been really busy, and also missed some school due to illness (again), meaning that come tomorrow, I have to write a biology test and catch up on all the work I missed in my other classes. Not to mention write up a bio report and start on my joint construction project for kinesiology. So I shouldn't even have written this today, but I felt bad for not updating (really bad, sorry guys).

Thanks for the reviews, they motivate me to keep on writing and try to update regularly. One more thing before I let you get on with reading this chapter, for anyone who is interested, after this story I am definitely going to return to writing "The Case of Emily Neil", I think I have determined what went wrong with that story, and I imagine that I will be rewriting and reworking what I already have done before writing new material. But not until this story is done. I hope to have the next chapter up before next weekend (or at least written by the weekend).

Oh, and I lied, one more thing. There was a reviewer (I'd check who, but I am already multitasking here) who observed that Daniels and Angela are both up to no good. I would like to clarify now that Daniels is just a scientist who is really striving toward making a breakthrough and doesn't really have any malicious intent (except maybe the animal testing…but he can't really go straight to humans I guess), Angela though…well you'll have to see.

Chapter Thirteen

Allison, for whatever reason, had decided not to fire Taggart. While she had gone home that night, she had him remain at Global Dynamics creating a detailed record of each and every experiment he had conducted in his offsite lab at any stage after Nathan's rule had come into effect. Apparently he had been sneaking around more than anyone could have guessed, but by some miracle, this last incident had been the only one serious enough that anyone had found out about it. In any case, she had decided to allow Taggart to remain in Eureka, but there were going to be some changes made to avoid similar situations in the future. At present, she was meeting Jack at Café Diem for some coffee before work.

Their timing was perfect, just as Allison was parking her SUV, Jack's jeep came into view. He pulled his car over into one of the parking spaces and they walked into the café together. After ordering a pair of Vince-spressos, one decaf since Allison was trying to cut back on the caffeine considering her condition, and a couple of bagels they sat down at one of the many tables. It was a school day, so it would be Vincent himself and not Carter's daughter who brought their breakfast. The café was quieter than normal that morning and perhaps that was the reason that Carter noticed that the other customers were paying more attention to him that would be considered normal.

He leaned toward Allison and spoke quietly so that those around could not overhear, "Do you notice something odd?" he asked.

She looked around. "You're going to have to be a little more specific," she said.

"Okay…um…this might sound a little crazy, but I think I'm being watched." Saying it aloud made him feel stupider for even thinking something so ridiculous, never mind voicing his thoughts. Now she was going to think he was crazy or something. Great. That was exactly what he was hoping for.

"Watched? By whom?"

"Um..." He really didn't want to continue conversation on this particular topic, but he figured that if he couldn't answer her, he would seem even crazier than he already did. "Everyone in here," he said, looking around pointedly.

"You're right, you do sound crazy," she said. But as the words passed her lips, she thought that maybe he could be right. Maybe. Or maybe they were both imagining things, she thought.

What neither of them knew was that these feelings were not signs of insanity or paranoia, in fact, they were entirely accurate. The residents of Eureka were taking much more notice of their Sheriff and for that they had to thank Mrs. Newton (A/N: see chapter five). While she had kept her promise not to say a word about the relationship forming between the Sheriff and Director of Global Dynamics, she had not been able to resist telling a few friends, in the strictest confidence of course, about the fact that Sheriff Carter was no longer single. Now undoubtedly, everyone was wondering exactly who he was seeing, and whether this breakfast with Allison was anything more than business.

Vincent soon arrived with their food and drink and they were both distracted from the disconcerting feelings of being watched. They sat back in their chairs and fell back into their habit of discussing work over breakfast, which was usually just coffee and consumed 'on the go'. Carter had taken a big bite of his bagel, so she spoke first. "So, I've got Taggart at GD filling in records of all his experiments, but I'm going to need someone to escort him back to his lab and stay there while he and a couple of scientists from Global go through all his stuff."

He swallowed the mouthful of food. "Ah, so you want me to pick up Taggart when you finish with him?"

"No."

"No?" he asked.

"I thought this might be a good first assignment for your new deputy."

Ah. This was good. Normally he would have to take on these boring tasks, rarely could he convince Jo to handle any of them and this one would have almost certainly been his given whatever had happened between Jo and Taggart. At least having a new deputy brought the benefit of being able to assign her some of the tasks he so hated. "I'll put her on it as soon as I get back."

"Speaking of Rosen, have you talked to Jo about tailing her yet?"

"Not yet, but she should be fine with it, remember how wary she was of me when I first came to Eureka?" he chuckled, remembering the incident involving Spencer's movie night that had finally prompted her to accept him, to some degree at least. They still had the occasional issue though.

"You have to admit that you didn't go out of your way to make it easy on her."

"Hey, this place takes some getting used to," he paused, remembering some of the things he had done for the sole purpose of irritating her, which caused him to revise his statement, "but I suppose you're right, we were both very stubborn."

"Well it's a good thing you two can get along now."

They finished breakfast a few minutes later, their meal punctuated by further casual conversation, and they both left for work. Allison to finish dealing with Taggart at GD and Jack to wait for the next catastrophe to occur, it never took very long in Eureka, unless of course he was trying to dodge a physical. She had promised to give him a call when she was ready for Rosen to pick up Taggart and once that happened, he would have the privacy required to discuss the situation with Jo. It would not be good if Rosen were to suspect anything.

TBC


	15. Chapter 14

Title: Contagion

Author: A-Mind-of-Disturbed-Current

Rating: T

Pairing: Jack Carter/Allison Blake, General Mansfield/OFC

Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka and I make no money from this story.

Summary: General Mansfield wants to find out more about the underground complex and he can't do it alone. Meanwhile, Eureka is business as usual with no shortage of crises. Allison/Jack. Mansfield/OFC.

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has been following this story. I wanted to update sooner, but once again, real life has gotten in the way. Anyway, I hope to update at least once more this week since I am off from school (not to say that I am still not quite busy, they did not skimp on giving out the homework for my break). So I'm sitting here in my underwear (don't ask) and writing this before I go outside and enjoy the first decent weather here in a long time.

Chapter Fourteen

Angela entered the lobby of Global Dynamics and stopped there to look around. Somehow, she had expected it to be less normal than it seemed to her right now. Of course, there was no way to tell what chaos would be occurring later on that day… She continued forward, she needed to find Allison Blake's office where Taggart would be waiting and it would be terribly embarrassing to get lost on her first day of work.

She was so busy looking for some kind of sign to direct her that she didn't see him before they collided. The scientist she collided with was slight and thus easily knocked to the ground by the impact. "I am so sorry!" she exclaimed, extending her hand to help him up. She wasn't really (it wasn't her fault), but she had to play the appropriate role to fit in. "I should have been watching where I was going more carefully."

"Yes, you should have," he snapped, but accepted her assistance in getting back on his feet all the same. She was tempted to snap back at him, but she held the biting remark back as he turned away from her and continued on his way out of GD. She shrugged it off, it was over now, or so she thought. It would be a few days before she would put two and two together, but her encounter with the grouchy scientist was much more significant than she could have imagined. But for the time being, her mind was focused on locating Taggart and didn't register the nametag on his lab coat reading 'Daniels', or the dark circles under his eyes.

Ah. And there he was, not Taggart, but the strange little man with the glasses that Carter had described to her. He was Ms. Blake's secretary or something. She walked up to his desk. "Douglas Fargo?"

He looked up at her and just stared blankly. Fargo was awkward at the best of times, but especially around women and women he didn't know.

"Right then. I'm Sheriff Carter's new deputy. I'm here to collect Taggart?" she tried.

"Oh yeah, Sheriff Carter called about that."

She waited a moment but he didn't elaborate further, he seemed distracted. "And, where is he?" she asked, starting to become impatient.

"He's—" he stopped mid-sentence and looked around, "—he was right there." He pointed toward the chair across the room.

"You didn't watch him?" she demanded.

"That's not my job!" he protested, pushing up his glasses indignantly.

"It was until I got here!"

It was at that moment, when the situation was likely to escalate further, that Taggart appeared, munching on an apple. "Hey, you must be the new deputy," he said with a wide smile.

"Where have you been?"

He was taken aback by her accusing tone. "I felt a bit peckish, I was in the cafeteria."

She looked at Fargo with a scowl.

"He might have said something about being hungry…" he admitted.

She sighed, deciding to quit arguing before more time was wasted. It didn't really matter why he had not bothered to share that particular piece of information, it wouldn't change anything, at least not for the good. "Right." She turned to Taggart. "Well, Sheriff Carter sent me. Taggart, you need to accompany me back to your lab now."

"I know, Allison told me. You're babysitting me now."

"Come on then." She pretended not to hear his mumblings about not needing a babysitter and directed him to follow her to her vehicle outside. It would be a long day. She only hoped that she would get out of there in time to check out the various entrances to the underground complex, it would take some time for her to prepare for such an outing and she would have to leave as soon as it was dark in hopes of finishing by daybreak.

_

* * *

_Daniels sunk into his armchair. He didn't feel well and it was more than the simple fact that he was tired from working too many hours without sleep. He didn't feel like himself, especially considering his behaviour in the lobby at Global Dynamics. Generally, he was not so rude, even when he was tired. He shook his head, what had gotten into him? Absentmindedly he scratched his arm. Then he scratched harder. Why was he so itchy? He rolled up his sleeve. His forearm was red and irritated where he had scratched, but it was more than that. In places, his skin was flaking off, leaving a crusty surface underneath.

Experimentally, he scratched at the area and more of his skin flaked off. He frowned. What could--? His eyes widened, could this have anything to do with his experiment? He hauled himself to his feet and dashed out of the room. If he was right, then the mice should be showing symptoms and anyone who he had come into contact with since he began the trial could be in danger as well, depending on how this condition was transmitted. If it was airborne, there would be little he could do, all of GD could be exposed by now, but if it was through exchange of fluids…he would be the only one infected, even a small cut on his skin could have done it.

For the meantime he would keep this a secret and take the appropriate precautions, he must not touch anyone directly. Unfortunately, he was so preoccupied with getting back to his lab, the thought that he might have infected the deputy didn't even cross his mind….

TBC


	16. Chapter 15

Title: Contagion

Author: A-Mind-of-Disturbed-Current

Rating: T

Pairing: Jack Carter/Allison Blake, General Mansfield/OFC

Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka and I make no money from this story.

Summary: General Mansfield wants to find out more about the underground complex and he can't do it alone. Meanwhile, Eureka is business as usual with no shortage of crises. Allison/Jack. Mansfield/OFC.

Author's Note: I am so sorry that I have not written in so long, I was so busy with school and everything that this just kind of got pushed to the side. However, it is summer now and while I must find a job soon, I should still have plenty of time to write before I begin University in the fall (at which point I may be prevented from writing, I do not know what sort of workload to expect). Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, and thanks to everyone who has been patient in regard to my lack of updates.

Chapter Fifteen

Cleaning out Taggart's lab with the scientists from GD was a lengthy process. By the time the scientists were ready to quit the sun was already setting and they still had not finished examining everything in the lab. This presented somewhat of a dilemma as Taggart would have to remain under supervision. Angela radioed Carter, hoping that she could simply leave him in the jail cell overnight and still have time to sneak around under the cover of darkness, but her hopes came to naught. The Sheriff thought it would be unjust to lock Taggart up, even for the night, leaving her to either watch him here, or take him to her place. She decided that the latter would be preferably if only so that she could ingratiate herself to at least one of the locals. As a bonus, she might have some time to unpack her things, which would most likely be waiting for her when she arrived. Certainly, Angela would not be investigating the entry points to the complex for at least one more day.

Sure enough, having left the movers a key, the furniture and boxes were waiting for her when she and Taggart arrived at her house. Immediately, she set Taggart up in the room that had become a spare bedroom and set about unpacking some of her belongings from one of her apartments. She didn't really need many of the items (most of the necessary things she had brought with her when she had initially arrived), but they transformed the house into a more human and lived in environment. It would seem more normal, and normal was exactly what she needed to seem. Once she had deemed that the correct amount of items had been unpacked considering the time available, she took a moment to think about her current situation before thinking about sleep.

Perching on the edge of the couch she reviewed her current course of action. Find the entrance. Get inside. Investigate. Of course, she had to ensure that the entire time she kept up her duties as a deputy and developed some form of social life, so it would take some additional time. Already she was a day behind. While the last two phases would take an unknown length of time, depending on which entrance was most promising, how long the complex took to explore, and how often she was able to sneak off, finding the entry points would only take a single night as she knew where to find them and only had to assess them.

She had planned to undertake that particular task that very night and Mansfield would be displeased with the delay if it impacted her report negatively next week, but really there was nothing that she could do about it at this point. With a sigh, she headed to her bedroom and hastily prepared for bed. It was late and she would have to be well rested in the event that she had the opportunity to examine the entrances the following day. Besides, she had a feeling that those scientists would most likely want an early start at Taggart's lab. She was sure that they weren't thrilled with being diverted from their own work to complete this particular task.

* * *

Before the end of their shift, Carter had asked Jo to meet him back at the Sheriff's Office. He found her sitting on his desk, her legs swaying slightly from side to side while she waited. Carter could have told her off, and he was quite tempted to do so, but he ultimately decided to pick his battles and simply get on with the issue at hand. "Jo, I need you to do something."

"If this is another problem that that insane farmer and Fargo are having, you can forget it, I am not going near the two of them."

"No, no, it's nothing like that. Actually, I think you'll like this particular activity." He paused, thinking how best to articulate his concerns. "It seems odd how our new deputy was assigned and brought here personally by Mansfield don't you think?"

"A little. Do you want me to interrogate her?"

"No. Suspicions with no evidence are not enough. I need you to watch and follow her whenever possible. And I need you to do it in a way that she doesn't notice."

She shrugged. "That's not a problem, but what am I looking for?"

"Anything that seems odd or out of the ordinary."

"In Eureka? You're going to have to be more specific than that."

"Okay, I want to know why she's really here. I think she may be working as an agent for Mansfield, but I can't think of what he hopes to gain from placing her in this position."

* * *

Daniels examined his mice carefully. A number of them were showing symptoms, however, not all of them were afflicted by the serum in this way. Some were entirely unaffected and the remainder had various levels of progression, indicating that either the time of transmission varied or that it progressed at different rates in different individuals. At this point, there was no way of knowing which hypothesis was the correct one. One thing was certain. The mice who were not directly exposed to those who had had the serum injected were free of symptoms entirely, meaning that the serum could not act as an airborne agent. That was a relieve to the exhausted scientist.

If it had become airborne, this could have been a real disaster, he thought. Now all he had to do was seal the lab and continue his work. As far as he could recall, he had not had physical contact with anyone that would risk a transmission, so only his life, and the lives of his lab mice of course, hung in the balance. He would either find a cure or face the consequences, potentially death. In that event, he would make sure to leave a notice warning against touching anything in the lab, particularly his body, without adequate protection to warn whomever discovered what had happened. He got to work right away, there was no telling yet what further progression of this disease would bring or how long it would be before he was unable to continue working. Time could be running out and he wouldn't even know. There was no time to waste.

TBC

* * *


	17. Chapter 16

Title: Contagion

Author: A-Mind-of-Disturbed-Current

Rating: T

Pairing: Jack Carter/Allison Blake, General Mansfield/OFC

Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka and I make no money from this story.

Summary: General Mansfield wants to find out more about the underground complex and he can't do it alone. Meanwhile, Eureka is business as usual with no shortage of crises. Allison/Jack. Mansfield/OFC.

Author's Note: For those of you who don't know, today is Canada Day. As a result, I had time to finish this chapter without having to stop to go to the gym or attend my martial arts classes (both closed for the stat. holiday).

I would have posted this sooner, but I was so close to getting through "The Tale of Genji" (which I also had to abandon in favour of academics for a while) I could not bear to take much time to do anything else until it was done. In any case, it is a fantastic book, considered to be the first true novel ever written and I highly recommend it for those interested in Japanese culture.

Oh, and I hope to be wrapping this story up relatively soon, however there will still be several more chapters. I should also add that I have made use of some of the information I have learned in biology class in this chapter.

Chapter Sixteen

As soon as Carter had informed her of her task, Jo began planning exactly how it would be accomplished. While they were on duty it would be a simple matter to keep an eye on Rosen, requiring little effort or ingenuity on her part. Carter would simply have to "request" that they work together frequently, however it was doubtful that she would have to take any initiative for that to happen. Carter may not be a brilliant man, but despite the comments of some, he was not a stupid man. He would likely take such action on his own. No the problematic part of her task consisted of the off-duty hours they had.

Unfortunately, while they were off-duty a number of problems would present themselves when it came to tailing the new deputy, the most important one being that she was not certain who or what she was dealing with. If she was Mansfield's spy, the information provided by Mansfield could easily prove inaccurate, for all she knew Rosen could have skills comparable or greater than her own. Or, she could be exactly who she appeared to be and nothing more. Jo honestly hoped for the latter. If found otherwise, there would be a great deal of problems to work through and a potential confrontation with Mansfield, the last such confrontation having resulted in Carter's firing. That was a series of events that no one wanted repeated. But for the time being, she would wait and see what was uncovered.

Normally, Jo would enlist Taggart's aid in such an endeavour so that she would be able to better complete her assignment and still get a decent amount of sleep, however considering the present situation, that was something she could not even consider. It would be far too awkward for the both of them. The solution was simple, she would make use of a new experimental supplement that she knew one of the scientists at GD was working on. It would allow her to go great lengths of time without sleep without bearing any of the physical or mental tolls of doing so. While the effects were not unlimited, grabbing some sleep whenever she could would extend the time period for which it could be used. The trick would be obtaining the supplement. Fortunately the scientist who had originally manufactured it owed her a favour.

* * *

Angela groaned. While she was adept at sleeping just about anywhere at anytime, a virtue of her experiences in covert operations, the trick had always been for her to manage to fall asleep. Once she was asleep nothing but certain noises would awake her before she was signalled to wake, but falling asleep occasionally proved problematic. The previous night had been an example of such a situation. Unfortunately, Taggart snored abominably loud and in combination with her irritation at the present situation, it made it difficult for her to sleep. Eventually she did succumb to pure exhaustion, but her sleep was less than refreshing.

As predicted, the scientists showed up early and dragged her, along with Taggart, back out to the lab. After a few tedious hours of watching them go through papers and boxes, with the occasional question directed at Taggart, the task was complete. With the entire contents of Taggart's lab having been inventoried and any illicit items or research removed, there was no longer any need for her presence; she radioed Carter to be certain, but there was no reason for her to stick around. She was relieved to return to her normal duties.

_

* * *

_

Daniels rested his head on his forearms. He was exhausted and no closer to finding a cure; one of the mice relayed even worse news. It was among the ones that he had given an injection of the serum directly and out of that group the fastest in which the ailment had progressed, and he wasn't looking good. The same crusty sort of rash that had appeared on his arm had spread across almost the entirety of the mouse's body, leaving it relatively furless, but more than causing a disgusting appearance, the rash had at least one more insidious effect, potentially additional ones as well, if the mouse lived that long.

The rash caused the skin to become hard and dry, and seemed to have the added bonus of reducing the radiation of heat from the body, leading to an inability to regulate body temperature, as it also sealed the sweat glands. Considering the amount of energy the body releases as heat, core temperature would rise rapidly resulting in the denaturation of proteins and, following the loss of multiple bodily functions, death. However, judging from the progression, if an infected individual lived long enough, they would likely die from asphyxiation as the rash seemed to be progressing inside the body through the mouth and respiratory tract. If it progressed to the lungs, it seemed likely that the alveoli would be prevented from absorbing oxygen, choking off the supply.

Either way, a relatively fast and unpleasant death would be imminent. He would have to find a way to reverse, slow down or halt the progression of the rash, and fast. Daniels removed the mouse in question and mercifully injected it with an overdose of pain killers, ending its suffering and allowing for an autopsy to be performed. Before he could begin, there was a knock at the door. Fortunately the door was locked from the inside, and it was unlikely that whomever it was had authority to override, but if they sensed anything wrong, the situation was going to get significantly more complicated. He fought the urge to curse and moved closer to the door, so that he could converse through it, he had to ensure that the person on the other side left without being exposed to the serum.

TBC


	18. Chapter 17

Title: Contagion

Author: A-Mind-of-Disturbed-Current

Rating: T

Pairing: Jack Carter/Allison Blake, General Mansfield/OFC

Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka and I make no money from this story.

Summary: General Mansfield wants to find out more about the underground complex and he can't do it alone. Meanwhile, Eureka is business as usual with no shortage of crises. Allison/Jack. Mansfield/OFC.

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. On occasion I believe that I have taken the time to mention here the latest book I am reading, and I think I shall continue to do so, at least when I have found a particularly good one, and particularly because I do not update more frequently because I tend to spend all my time reading instead of writing. I read a book called R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) written by Karel Capek in 1920. The story is a short play and makes some excellent points about a number of grand themes. I highly recommend it and reading the introduction is a must.

Oh, and I should mention that this would have been done sooner but for a terrible headache I have had recently that made it unwise for me to focus too long on a computer screen. But I have consumed pain killers which have begun to take effect at last (man, those things take forever to work) and have dulled the pain, so I can finish this. Next chapter there will be more Jack and Allison and Rosen will make her first move toward completing Mansfield's mission. I will try to be more prompt with the update. Hopefully this weekend.

Chapter Seventeen

Jo waited patiently for a response. Just as she was about to knock again, a voice sounded from within. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, you can open the door," she responded impatiently.

There was a pause before a response came. "I'm afraid I can't. I…er…my experiment requires very specific conditions…even the wrong level of…uh…light could adversely affect results."

She sighed. "Look, Al, I need a favour and you owe me. So find a way, alright?"

"Who…who is it I'm speaking with?" the voice stammered.

"Deputy Lupo. I trust you haven't forgotten that incident last year, when you almost-"

"Yes, yes, I remember. Just tell me what the favour is and I will ensure it happens, alright? I just can't open the door right now."

"Are you alright? You sound…strange, well, more so than usual." This elicited a nervous bark of laughter from behind the door, which only bolstered her suspicions, but then, scientists were a strange breed and she thought it entirely possible that he was merely stressing over his latest experiment. Having no further communication coming from within, she had no choice but to proceed and state what she required with him. "I need the drug you've been working on."

"Uh…what? Which one?" His voice was filled with panic.

"You tested it successfully last month. It promotes alertness, or so you said. Are you sure that everything is fine?"

He ignored her question as to his wellbeing. "Oh, that one," the panic was gone, relief having taken its place, "There's some in storage, I'll give you the codes you need to find and access it."

"You don't want to know why I need it?"

"Do I want to know?"

"Fair point." She looked at her watch and frowned. Rosen was probably back at the Sheriff's office by now and all matters considered, with Carter out patrolling, she shouldn't be left alone. "I'm going to need those codes now, I need to get back to my duties."

He gave her the codes promptly, as if he was as anxious as she to end the interaction. But before she left, he called out through the door. "Deputy, I trust this makes us even, and I would appreciate it if you didn't mention this to anyone, particularly Ms. Blake. Strictly, I'm not supposed to be giving out free samples, much less should you be asking for them."

"Your secret is safe."

_

* * *

_

As Jo moved away from the door and down the hall, Daniels sagged against the door with relief. Sweat beaded on his brow, the moisture chilling his body in the airconditioned environment. That had been a close call, but given their agreement to secrecy, at least she would be unlikely to voice any suspicions regarding his demeanour to anyone of consequence. If Allison Blake were to find out about this ordeal…well…not only would be likely be fired, but there was a chance that his project would be immediately terminated, or used for less benevolent purposes than intended. Besides, there was still time to find a cure and therefore to hide that this unfortunate series of events had ever occurred. No one need know, nor need be harmed, and his reputation would remain intact. With determination he returned to his task with new confidence. Whether it was false hope remained to be seen at this stage. He did not know enough, and perhaps human progression would be slower…

_

* * *

_

Arriving at the Sheriff's office, Angela was surprised to find it utterly deserted. Had something happened while she was babysitting Taggart? She concluded that if there had been an incident, it must have been relatively small, given that she had seen no evidence of disturbance driving through the town moments ago. The typical emergencies in Eureka tended to be on a very large scale, or so she had determined from reading the reports of various incidents that had occurred both recently and in the past. Although, she had skimmed over anything unrelated to the complex that had occurred a significant time in the past. Besides, they would have radioed her, wouldn't they?

She wasn't sure of that. If they did not trust her, and she wasn't sure that they did, they might leave her out of a situation unless her presence was necessary. With that in mind, she began planning not only for her nocturnal excursion, but for the inevitable meeting with Mansfield, which was fast approaching. She would have to think of some plausible reason to request a day off from her duties and be prepared to shake anyone who followed her. Having her meeting exposed would be a disaster to the mission. Fortunately, she did have someone lined up to play the role of 'cousin', she just needed to invent a reason to visit that would stand up to scrutiny.

Tapping her fingers absentmindedly on her desk, she invented excuses to visit her 'cousin'. Actually, her 'cousin' was a contact she had met during her freelance work shortly after leaving the CIA. She didn't know the woman's full story, but she did know that the last thing she would want would be to get involved with the 'authorities', meaning that betrayal was a low risk in this case. In preparation for this assignment, she had had the contacts who worked out her new background do a similar service for her 'cousin', although it took less work as there were fewer records to deal with, classified or otherwise. In any case, before arriving in Eureka, she had called her and filled her in on a "need to know" basis, meaning that there were already mechanisms in place for future communication, including the notification that certain code words were now active, as any communication would have to be entirely above suspicion.

Presently, Deputy Lupo's entrance interrupted her train of thought and it could not be said that she relished the look of suspicion that was immediately cast upon her. Clearly her fears had been well founded. The other deputy certainly did not trust her. Who knew who else shared that opinion?

TBC


End file.
